SAGE (game engine)

The saga engine (also: SAGE engine) is an originally developed by Westwood Studios 3D engine, which is used today by Electronic Arts (EA ) or EA-Pacific/EA-LA further developed and used for strategy games.

Description

The abbreviation stands for SAGE Strategy Action Game Engine, so the term saga engine is superfluous, since it is a redundant acronym. The name, however, has so naturalized. The saga engine was originally in Westwood under the name " W3D Engine" ( Westwood -3D) developed and used for the real-time strategy game Emperor: Battle for Dune and the first-person shooter Command & Conquer: Renegade used. W3D built here on the Surrender 3D engine of hybrid holding company.

Although it is a first person shooter with Renegade, the Sage engine is in no way inappropriate for this genre. Because it offers capabilities in visualization processes, which are (in most cases in a non- first-person perspective ) used for cutscenes. In addition, this engine has always developed for future strategy games. By a division of the code can be, for example, disable the characteristic first-person shooter elements. Without this division of hidden mini-games in first person shooter form could be built into strategy games. However, this was prevented aware.

Parallel to the development of Emperor and Command & Conquer: Renegade, the engine has been fully developed and more adapted to strategy games. After the release of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 Westwood Pacific in 2000, had the Westwood - daughter Studio to develop W3D for use in real-time strategy games in Irvine (California), received an order for this. By 2002 the engine reached its final status. The public, it was under the new name " SAGE " only with trailers for the game Command & Conquer: Generals ( in April 2003 the title because of the indexing in generals has been changed) is known, which was released in February 2003. For the corresponding add-on Zero Hour some new explosion effects were added. Only for the game Battle for Middle- earth, the engine was developed back stronger in 2004. It came new water and light effects to DirectX 9.0c support, and higher resolution textures. For his successor Battle for Middle Earth 2 came again new technical refinements added: soft shadows, a kind of bump maps, vertex and pixel shader 2.2 and realistic water with waves belonged from now to the repertoire of this engine that certainly not more like Quake 3 looked now.

The last published game with this engine version was Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath, the add -on to Tiberium Wars, which was released on March 25, 2008. The main game was released on 29 March 2007 and brought pixel and vertex shader third version with it. After the appearance should be loud Mike Verdu, the producer of Tiberium Wars, for consecutive games a new engine to be programmed as the Sage engine will then be too old, cluttered and confusing. With the official announcement of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 was announced that the game yet again the saga engine will now use. However voiced Aaron " Apoc " Kaufman, the community manager for Electronic Arts Command & Conquer that this game is definitely probably the last game with this engine. In a forum post, he said:

"Second, [ with ] Red Alert 3 now runs the SAGE and the effects that you see are at least equivalent to C & C3. "

The engine has been thoroughly revised, so that it can, for example, new water effects to make the naval battles seem more realistic pose. Also for Red Alert 3 she got a look that is reminiscent in part to American cartoons. This new version of the engine SAGE was 2.0. Also for Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight was the SAGE Engine 2.0, notwithstanding any announcements used.

Released Games

  • 2002: Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat
  • 2002: Command & Conquer: Renegade
  • 2002: Earth & Beyond
  • Command & Conquer: Renegade 2 ( adjusted )
  • Command & Conquer: Continuum ( set )
  • 2003: Command & Conquer: Generals 2003: Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour
  • 2006: The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2: The Rise of the Witch King
  • 2008: Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath
  • 2008: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 2009: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Uprising
Strategy video game Irvine, California Quake (video game) MobyGames
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